For teens, thrift store is a lifeline

At-risk high schoolers learn job and social skills at a Round Lake Beach resale shop, working to find and build confidence and independence

December 26, 2007|By Robert Channick. Special to the Tribune

Discarded sweaters and bric-a-brac aren't the only things finding new life at Hidden Treasures Gift & Thrift Store in Round Lake Beach. Cast aside because of emotional and behavioral issues, the teenage staffers themselves are working their way back into the mainstream.

A vocational outreach of Allendale Association, a non-profit Lake Villa educational and treatment center, the flourishing 5-year-old store has helped open the door to a number of first jobs, and for some kids, the outside world.

"It's tough for kids who have mental health issues to make that leap," said Jordan Luhr, Allendale's vice president of development.

Allendale reaches about 1,300 neglected, abused and mentally ill children annually through its school, residential treatment programs, outpatient facilities and group homes scattered from Highland Park to Wisconsin. Ninety-five percent of its $30 million annual budget comes from state agencies, Luhr said.

Allendale offers vocational training for its high school students, but its foray into retail was more accidental than academic.

"We were getting overwhelmed with donations of clothes and household items -- dishes, pictures, that kind of stuff -- and like most non-profits, we did not want to turn anybody away," Luhr said.

With modest expectations, Allendale opened up a small storefront in 2002 in downtown Lake Villa, which it quickly outgrew. In 2004, Hidden Treasures relocated to its current spot: tucked between a nursery school, dry cleaners and nail salon at Sweetwater Crossing, a strip mall on Illinois Highway 83 in nearby Round Lake Beach.

The store is stocked entirely through donations, and it offers merchandise in a bright, boutique-like setting. Neatly displayed racks of clothing, books, DVDs, figurines, cookie jars and curios are tightly packed in the 1,200-square-foot space. In the back is a small children's play area overflowing with toys and stuffed animals.

While the ambience is on the high end of thrift shop fare, it is the mission that sets Hidden Treasures apart, embodied in pairs of teenagers delivered by van every two hours for their daily shifts. Working four days a week, the students are taught sales, stocking and cashiering, but the underlying lesson plan is more basic.

"A lot of our students have been institutionalized or lived in a residential program for many years," said Tina Chiero, 48, the store's manager and a vocational instructor at Allendale for 10 years. "What is most important for them is they learn how to be socially appropriate."

Eight students work in the store, receiving both academic credit and a vocational wage up to $4.85 an hour, based on performance.

"If they have a good day, they'll get paid the highest rate," Chiero said. "If they're having a difficult day or a completely non-compliant day, they may not get paid anything."

For a number of students, the thrift store has been a stepping stone to more gainful employment. In September, after three months of training, Carrie Martinell, 18, of Wauconda landed a job as a cashier at a department store in Lake Zurich.

Mother of a 15-month-old girl, Martinell credits the store with building her self-confidence along with her resume. She is set to graduate in June and plans to attend nursing school.

"I like working with people," she said. "I found that out through interacting with the customers."

Although Hidden Treasures has yet to turn a profit, business has been brisk this year, with $3,500 to $4,000 in monthly sales, which roughly covers its costs, according to officials. A growing base of regular customers keeps the students busy.

"I think it's good because it gives them a little bit of a sneak peek of what it would be like to be in the working world," said Tim Adornetto, 46, of Grayslake, foraging on a recent weekday afternoon.

Bernadette Aquino, 40, a naval petty officer stationed at Naval Station Great Lakes, began to frequent the store after moving to Round Lake Beach.

"I try to come in here once or twice a week," she said, carefully sizing up offerings on a circular clothing rack. "The quality is good, the prices are good and ... the money goes to a good cause."

Finishing up the last shift, two students slipped seamlessly through the aisles, folding, hanging and restocking at the behest of Chiero. Four months into her training, an amiable 19-year-old was grateful for the experience as she nervously prepared for her first job interview that day at a department store in Gurnee Mills.

"I think it was very helpful because I learned to deal with customers -- strangers, basically -- and how to use the cash register," she said.

Not quite ready to move on, her somewhat reserved 17-year-old co-worker nonetheless offered her take on success in retail, and perhaps the world beyond.